The back beats ended and there was a pause, before the slow ticking started and the piano keys were heard, quickly followed by Junho’s smooth voice as he started off the song. As the song hit the chorus, the beat sped up and Junsu’s strong vocals came through the speakers, his voice amplified by the sounds echoing off the walls and mirrors.

Mai leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The song was on repeat, playing for the fourth time that morning as she sat listening on the couch in the corner of the room. She was supposed to be working on the transitions for their new song and their individual positions, all while incorporating the routine Namyong had come up with for the chorus. She was supposed to, but she wasn’t. Yesterday’s performance still plagued her mind.

She felt the couch shift as someone took the seat next to her, taking her by surprise. Her eyes peaked open to the grinning face of 2PM’s maknae.

“Noona, why do you look so stressed?” he asked her with a playful look, pulling his legs up onto the couch and crossing them. Mai could see Junho and Wooyoung standing behind him, also staring at her with a hint of curiosity.

“I told you not to call me noona Chansung-ah. It makes me feel old,” she replied leaning forward, her head propped up by the arm resting on her knee.

“But you’re older than me,” he whined, pouting at her. From behind him, both Junho and Wooyoung shook their heads and snickered quietly at their maknae’s childish act.

“I’m barely half a year older than you Chansung-ah,” Mai replied, not unkindly. She liked the maknae. Besides Jay, Taecyeon and Nichkhun, whom she had gotten along with because of their English, Chansung had been the first one to warm up to her. He’d been the first one to break the awkward barrier when he decided to approach her during practice to where she usually stood, silently watching on the sidelines, and personally ask her for help with some of the steps.

The maknaes were all still looking at her with slight concern; Mai let out a sigh and placed her other elbow on her knee, shifting her head so that it now rested equally on both palms.

“Mai-ah, you’re not still thinking about Junsu-hyung’s mistake are you?” Junho asked her, pulling his mouth to the side and gently biting on his lower lip. Mai silently blamed Junho for the unnecessary fanservice as she averted her eyes before she was caught staring.

“Junho’s right Mai-ah. I hope you’re not thinking about yesterday,” Wooyoung added. “You shouldn’t be stressing over something that wasn’t your fault.” Mai couldn’t help sighing again, knowing they were right but not being able to push it out of her mind.

Like Renn, it had been the first time Mai had been allowed to work on a piece by herself. It wasn’t a big deal, seeing as all she was doing was fixing the choreography they already had down and matching it to the shortened version of their song, but Mai wanted it to seem flawless, as if nothing had been cut out in the first place.

She had been sure that they had gotten enough practice in, until she found out Junsu and Jay were singing at the end of 2AM’s Confession of a Friend before joining the rest of the boys on stage. Jay she had no need to worry about, it was Junsu she was scared for. The boy had been blessed with a powerful mesmerizing voice and two left feet. With the addition of ad-libbing to 2AM’s song and backing up Jay’s rap, Mai knew the older boy would get distracted and forget his steps. And sure enough, Junsu had went back to the old routine before realizing that that particular section had been cut out. She didn’t hate him for it, but she just couldn’t help dwelling on the incident.

“Mai-ah.”

Someone's voice brought her back to reality, as she looked up to see Chansung already standing, offering her a hand to help her off the couch. Mai greatly obliged, and the younger boy pulled her up onto her feet and onto the dance floor. I Hate You was still playing in the background, and Mai walked over to the sound system to stop the track.

“Where’s everyone else?” she asked to no one in particular.

“They should be coming. Jaebeommie-hyung was working double time on Taec-hyung this morning cause he refused to wake up, and Junsu-hyung didn’t want to come cause of yesterday,” Junho replied as he started stretching. “Khun-hyung was busy talking him out of whatever weird mindset he was in.”

“Minjae-hyung would have yelled at us if no one was here, so since we were the only ones ready, we came first,” Wooyoung added with a nod.

“Everything was happening in Junsu-hyung and Taec-hyung’s room since neither of them wanted to leave, and Jaebeom-hyung and Khun-hyung were in there all morning trying to make them budge. Junsu-hyung was afraid you’d yell at him cause of yesterday’s thing, and Khun-hyung was trying to convince him the whole morning that he was being ridiculous...” Chansung trailed off, giving her an odd look. “He is being ridiculous, right?”

Mai hid her grin by looking to the side and shrugging her shoulders in response. “Maybe, maybe not. He made that mistake even after I reminded him beforehand. He should have gotten some extra practice in, and he knows he’s the one who needs it most,” she replied bluntly, trying to keep her tone as neutral as possible. She chanced a quick glance over, and the maknae’s eyes had widened at her answer.

“Noona you’re scary.”

“Chansung-ah, call me noona again and I’ll let show you how scary I can be.” This time Mai was smirking, and Junho and Wooyoung chuckled as Chansung pouted again. Mai took a hair elastic from her wrist and began to run through her hair with her fingers.

“Oh, Mai-ah. Are you free tomorrow evening? We’re planning on going to a bar to surprise a friend at work. ” Mai looked over at Junho as she pulled her hair back and tied it up.

“You are?” Wooyoung asked the younger boy, shooting him a look of surprise.

“Oh yeah! I forgot she was working tomorrow,” Chansung exclaimed. “Not just us, you’re coming too, Wooyoungie. We’re dragging the rest of the hyungs too, since no one has a schedule at that time. Renn-noona will be coming, so you have no excuse Mai-ah.”

Before Mai could answer, the door opened and a middle-aged woman Mai didn’t recognize appeared. She was holding a post-it-note in one hand and a coffee cup in the other.

“Someone told me Tran May-ssi is here?” The lady looked over at Mai, being the only girl, and asked again. “Are you Tran May-ssi?”

Mai bit the inside of her cheek. Not that she minded that much, but really? “It’s pronounced mye, not may,” she corrected the woman as nicely as she could manage.

“Oh, I’m sorry Mai-ssi. I have a message from someone who called the office for you.” She walked over and handed Mai the piece of paper. Mai thanked her as the woman left, turning her eyes down to the note.

“Who’s it from?”

Mai pressed her lips together as she read the note. “My old crew is back in Korea, and they want to meet up,” she replied as her mood slowly turned sombre.

“Wait, the group you performed with when Jinyoung-hyung saw you?” Junho asked as he approached her, leaning over her shoulder to read the note in her hand. Mai didn’t say anything about the intrusion on her personal space, instead, she just nodded as she kept her eyes on the paper.

“They’re not here long, and they can only see me tomorrow,” she told them slowly, looking up at Chansung and trying to ignore Junho’s distracting presence beside her.

This time it was Wooyoung who pouted, gaining a surprised look from the girl. “Are you saying your old crew is more important than us?” he teased in mock offence. This was the onscreen Wooyoung, and Mai rolled her eyes at his switch in personality.

“Ever since I started working here, I’ve never gotten a chance to see them since they went back overseas. They’re the reason I got this job in the first place.”

“Jinyoung-hyung saw your choreography on Youtube too,” Chansung pointed out. “They’re not the sole reason you were hired. You’re just that good.”

Mai could see Junho’s head bobbing up and down from the corner of her eye as he agreed with the maknae. She sighed. “Sorry guys, looks like you’re gonna have to go without me.” Junho gave her a sad look, and she shook her head in amusement. “Your Renn-noona will be there, you’ll have plenty of fun. I’m sure of it.”

The door to the studio opened, and Mai looked up to see the Head Choreographer Park Namyong walk in. They acknowledged each other's presence with a slight bow of the head, and the younger girl separated from Junho to join the choreographer and discuss the beginning of their practice.